''the answer to that obviously was no, and as the result, i was elected to this office and promised a new beginning. now, maybe i'm expected to ask that same question again. i'm not going to, because i think that all of you -- or not everyone, those people that are in those pockets of poverty and haven't caught up, they couldn't answer the way i would want them to -- but i think that most of the people in this country would say, yes, they are better off than they were 4 years ago. the question, i think, should be enlarged. is america better off than it was 4 years ago? and i believe the answer to that has to also be "yes.'' i promised a new beginning. so far, it is only a beginning. if the job were finished, i might have thought twice about seeking reelection for this job. but we now have an economy that, for the first time -- well, let's put it this way -- in the first half of 1980, gross national product was down a minus 3.7%. the first half of '84 it's up 8.5%. productivity in the first half of 1980 was down a minus 2%. today it is up a plus 4%. personal earnings after taxes per ca